diff --git a/doc/Forums.md b/doc/Forums.md index 03657b6af..992f47c4e 100644 --- a/doc/Forums.md +++ b/doc/Forums.md @@ -4,49 +4,29 @@ Forums * [Home](help) -Friendica also lets you create forums and/or celebrity accounts. +Friendica also lets you create community forums and other types of accounts that can function as discussion forums, celebrity accounts, announcement channels, news reflectors, or organization pages, depending on how you want to interact with others. Management of these pages can be delegated to other accounts, or a parent account can be designated to easily toggle multiple identities. -Every page in Friendica has a nickname and these must all be unique. -This applies to all forums, whether they are normal profiles or forum profiles. +Every page in Friendica has a nickname and these must all be unique. This applies to all forums, whether they are normal profiles or forum profiles. -Therefore the first thing you need to do to create a new forum is to register a new account for the forum. -Please note that the site administrator can restrict and/or regulate the registration of new accounts. - -If you create a second account on a system and use the same email address or OpenID account as an existing account, you will no longer be able to use the email address (or OpenID) to log in to the account. -You should log in using the account nickname instead. - -On the new account, visit the 'Settings' page. -Towards the end of the page are "Advanced Account/Page Type Settings". -Typically you would use "Normal Account" for a normal personal account. -This is the default selection. -Community Forum/Celebrity Accounts provide the ability for people to become friends/fans of the forum without requiring approval. - -The exact setting you would use depends on how you wish to interact with people who join the page. -The "Soapbox" setting lets the page owner control all communications. -Everything you post will go out to the forum members, but there will be no opportunity for interaction. -This setting would typically be used for announcements or corporate communications. - -The most common setting is the "Community Forum". -This creates a forum page where all members can freely interact. - -The "Automatic Friend Account" is typically used for personal profile forums where you wish to automatically approve any friendship/connection requests. - -Managing Multiple forums +Managing Accounts --- -We recommend that you create group forums with the same email address and password as your normal account. -If you do this, you will find a new "Manage" tab on the menu bar which lets you toggle identities easily and manage your forums. -You are not required to do this, but the alternative is to log out and log back into the other account to manage alternate forums. -This could get cumbersome if you manage several different forums/identities. +To create a new linked account that can be used as a forum, log in to your normal account and go to Settings > Manage Accounts. Here you can register additional accounts with new nicknames that will be linked to your primary account. -You may also appoint a delegate to manage your forum. -Do this by visiting the [Delegation Setup Page](settings/delegation). -This will provide you with a list of contacts on this system under "Potential Delegates". -Selecting one or more persons will give them access to manage your forum. -They will be able to edit contacts, profiles, and all content for this account/page. -Please use this facility wisely. -Delegated managers will not be able to alter basic account settings such as passwords or page types and/or remove the account. +You may appoint a delegate to manage your new account (e.g. forum page). The Delegates section of Manage Accounts page will provide you with a list of contacts on this instance under "Potential Delegates". Selecting one or more persons will give them access to manage your forum. They will be able to edit contacts, profiles, and all content for this account/page. Please use this facility wisely. Delegated managers will not be able to alter basic account settings, such as passwords or page types, or remove the account. +Additionally, this page is also where you can choose to designate an account as a parent user. If your primary account is designated as the parent user, you will be able to easily toggle identities and manage your forums or other types of accounts. + +Types of Accounts +--- + +On the new account, visit the Settings > Account page. Towards the end of the page is a section for "Advanced account types". Typically you would use "Personal Page - Standard" for a normal personal account with manual approval of “friends” and “followers.” This is the default selection. On this page you can change the type of account if desired. + +The other subtypes of a Personal Page are “Soapbox” and “Love-all.” A Soapbox account is an announcement channel that automatically approvals follower requests. Everything posted by the account will go out to the followers, but there will be no opportunity for interaction. This setting would typically be used for announcements or corporate communications. “Love-all” automatically approves contacts as friends. + +In addition to Personal Page, there are options for Organization Page, News Page, and Community Forum. Organization and New Pages automatically approve contact requests as followers. + +Community Forum provide the ability for people to become friends/fans of the forum without requiring approval. This creates a forum page where all members can freely interact. Posting to Community forums ---